The Sportsman Desi Pub – West Bromwich #DesiGrills

The Sportsman Desi Pub – Location: The Sportsman is in West Bromwich, it’s simple enough to find, if you head towards the High St from the M5, you are parking up within two minutes.

For travelling football fans The Hawthorns is a 10-minute walk, Walsall FC is a 10-minute drive, Villa Park and St Andrews are all approx 25 minutes away in various directions.

The Sportsman Desi Pub

Appearance & Entry:
From outside, the Sportsman now looks a lot more friendly than before and really does stand out. The refurbishment around two years ago now really does make The Sportsman a lot more inviting. Yes, you will have a few people smoking outside, but let’s not forget this is very much lad’s venue. Anyone going to the Sportsman knows that.

Upon entry you have two rooms, turning right takes you into the bar leading into the dining area, the atmosphere is always buzzing, no matter what football/cricket fans are in, its always on point.

Drinks:
Always on point, and from a personal perspective the best Guinness Extra Gold in the local area! Always fresh-tasting, and it has been to blame for many a hangover. A great selection of spirits and draughts. With the Sportsman always being so busy the beer always tastes fresh.

Venue:
Having ordered our drinks we venture to the food room, the new booths work better than the previous tables. The dishes from leaving guests are collected quickly and the tables are clean. The venue is busy but we still manage to find a table and if its sport you like, screens are everywhere.

The Sportsman do now offer a sizzler option, but for us, we still like to order each element separately as the food is cooked fresh on charcoal and in-front of our eyes.

Food:

The Sportsman is a venue that is legendary amongst Albion fans and Punjabi residents up and down the country. The atmosphere is unique and it has become somewhat of an institution. We order our food and we are informed the food will be ready in 10mins and we will be called over.

Chicken Tikka: The Chicken Tikka chunks are large, and I mean large, the Sportsman is one of the few places that still actually fully barbecues its food, so the meat is slightly dry, yet tasty and full of spice. Dry for some great for us!

Lamb Shish Kebab: This like the tikka is barbecued, again the size of it is impressive. It’s spicy and is full of flavours not as dry as the tikka, very tasty. This has to be the largest kebab on offer locally.

Wings: These are spicy and once again huge compared to some venues.

Pork Steak: These were brilliant, large, tasty and just the right amount of spice. The best part of the grilled items. Maybe dry and overdone for some, but we have healthy teeth so when the tough gets going….

The Sportsman Desi Pub – Curries.

Chicken Tikka Masala: The plate is delivered slightly after the grilled items as we asked for that and the request was accommodated, the dish is spicy, the quantity of meat inside the dish is good nothing really stands out about the dish nor disappoints.

Lamb Curry: The lamb dish is spicy, tasty and plentiful, the spice is fine for lovers of spice but if you are not a fan of things this spicy inform the kitchen staff on arrival.

The Sportsman has been around for ages and has a reputation for being a great place to meet with friends and in large groups, that is still the case. The atmosphere, it still is one of the best around. If you want a lads night in and around the ends, this has to be the starting point!

The food, we love the food here at the Sportsman, it is totally unique to the venue. The mixed grill items are cooked fresh over charcoal, as they were when the place opened. Unique atmosphere, unique food and definitely unique kitchen staff.

Prices are realistic for food and drink, waiting times are minimal, even when it is very busy. The staff do not overindulge you in conversation which is good, food portions are large, so sharing is good, the curries were not stand out, just very much as expected.

The sportsman is a lad friendly venue at the weekends and we have been going here for so long that it just feels like home from home.